# Cisco Identity Services Engine alternatives: what AI models name instead, October 2026

IT AI Recommendation Index, October 2026 Edition. 211 of the 252 answers in the 1 category where Cisco Identity Services Engine holds a standing named it neither first nor as an alternative; these are the first choices those answers made. Page: https://it-ai-index.com/vendors/cisco-identity-services-engine/alternatives/

## Named instead, most often (every category and segment added)

- Portnox Cloud: 68
- PacketFence: 18
- Cisco ISE: 16
- Portnox CLEAR: 11
- OPSWAT MetaAccess: 8
- Aruba ClearPass: 4

## Network access control

**Small business**: 83 of 84 answers did not name Cisco Identity Services Engine.

- Portnox Cloud: first choice in 39 of those 83
- PacketFence: first choice in 9 of those 83
- OPSWAT MetaAccess: first choice in 4 of those 83
- Portnox CLEAR: first choice in 4 of those 83
- Aruba ClearPass: first choice in 2 of those 83
- Foxpass: first choice in 2 of those 83
- SecureW2: first choice in 2 of those 83
- Ubiquiti UniFi: first choice in 2 of those 83

**Mid-market**: 73 of 84 answers did not name Cisco Identity Services Engine (Cisco Identity Services Engine is #7 of 10 at 0%).

- Portnox Cloud: first choice in 21 of those 73
- PacketFence: first choice in 9 of those 73
- Portnox CLEAR: first choice in 7 of those 73
- Cisco ISE: first choice in 5 of those 73
- OPSWAT MetaAccess: first choice in 4 of those 73
- Aruba Central: first choice in 1 of those 73
- Cisco Identity Services Engine – ISE 3.4: first choice in 1 of those 73
- Cisco Meraki: first choice in 1 of those 73

**Enterprise**: 55 of 84 answers did not name Cisco Identity Services Engine (Cisco Identity Services Engine is #1 of 7 at 31%).

- Cisco ISE: first choice in 11 of those 55
- Portnox Cloud: first choice in 8 of those 55
- HPE Aruba ClearPass: first choice in 4 of those 55
- Aruba ClearPass: first choice in 2 of those 55
- Cisco Identity Services Engine - ISE: first choice in 2 of those 55
- Portnox Cloud NAC: first choice in 2 of those 55
- Cisco: first choice in 1 of those 55
- Fortinet FortiNAC: first choice in 1 of those 55

Published under CC BY 4.0. The output is the models' output; nothing here is a recommendation by the index.